Magnesium oxide and hip fracture in the elderly: a population-based retrospective cohort analysis

Using national insurance claims of Taiwan, we found that magnesium oxide (MgO) use is associated with an increased risk of hip fracture in the elderly. Further studies are warranted to explore the mechanisms associated with MgO use that lead to hip fracture.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between MgO use and hip fracture risk in the elderly (age > 65 years).

METHODS

This nationwide population-based retrospective study was conducted from 1996 to 2013. Individuals with (n = 26,069) and without (n = 26,069) MgO use were enrolled after propensity score matching. Primary outcome was a hip fracture. After adjusting for age, sex, comorbidities, and medications, multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to calculate incidences and risk of hip fracture [hazard ratio (HR)].

RESULTS

During the mean follow-up duration of 4.8 years in the MgO cohort and 5.7 years in the non-MgO cohort, respectively 1547 and 1107 cases developed a hip fracture. MgO use was identified as a risk factor for hip fracture in both univariate [crude HR, 1.68; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.55-1.81; p < 0.001] and multivariate [adjusted HR (aHR), 1.66; 95% CI, 1.54-1.80; p < 0.001] Cox proportional hazards regression models. The cumulative incidence of hip fracture was significantly higher in the MgO cohort than in the non-MgO cohort (1.23 per 100 person-years vs. 0.74 per 100 person-years, logrank test, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

MgO use is an independent risk factor for hip fracture in the elderly.

Associations between HIF-1α polymorphisms C1772T and G1790A and susceptibility to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

In the present study, we examined whether hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) polymorphisms are associated with the susceptibility to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). One hundred and twenty patients with COPD and 112 healthy controls were recruited from the Han population in Southern China. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism was used to assess the C1772T and G1790A polymorphisms in the HIF-1α gene, and differences in genotypes between the 2 groups were compared. No significant difference in the distribution of the C1772T polymorphism was observed between COPD cases and healthy controls (P > 0.05). In contrast, the distribution of the G1790A polymorphism was significantly different between the 2 groups (P < 0.05). Our results indicated that the HIF-1α G1790A polymorphism was associated with an increased susceptibility to COPD in Han subjects from Southern China.